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Details sought on killing by U.S. drone

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Wednesday July 16, 2014 5:00 AM

Some weeks ago, the government released a document regarding the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki in
Yemen with a drone some years ago. It stated in much detail why the killing of a U.S. citizen
abroad was legal: Al-Awlaki had been found to be a terrorist actively engaged in fighting the
United States.

Without such a finding, the killing would have been illegal.

However, al-Awlaki was not the only U.S. citizen killed by that drone. According to the same
document, he was accompanied by another U. S. citizen, identified only as “not a target.”

Presumably, then, that killing was illegal, and whoever ordered the drone strike might be
charged with manslaughter. No such action has been reported. U.S. officials and, strangely, the
news media seem content to completely ignore this crime.